Construct Validity in Scientific Representation: A Philosophical Tour

This article presents a philosophical tour encircling the concept construct validity. Encapsulated by two major perspectives, realism and antirealism, we visit key topics within the philosophy of educational science such as representation and reference, truth, explanation and causation. We discuss how realism and antirealism deal with unobservables through the distinction between appearance and reality. We examine the two perspectives’ stance on observational terms (O-terms) and theoretical terms (T-terms), and look at the consequences implied for researchers that reside within the two perspectives. We argue that the understanding of the concept of construct validity is essential for educational researchers and researchers from any scientific discipline. Furthermore, the discussions of construct validity raised here is important beyond the research realm, such as in educational practice and in all everyday inferences people make about theoretical entities. Any researcher and practitioner is free to choose between the -isms, but must be aware that the choice has consequences.publishedVersio

The fear of drowning in your own body

Bakgrunn: Hjertesvikt har en stadig økende forekomst, og er et av de største helseproblemene vi har i dag, noe som hovedsakelig skyldes lengre levealder og antall eldre øker. Forekomsten av hjertesvikt er knyttet til redusert livskvalitet, høy sykelighet og dødelighet. Hjertesvikt fører til et klinisk endret sykdomsbilde, som følge av sykdommens konsekvenser. Formål: Formålet med litteraturstudiet er økt kunnskap og forståelse om menneskets opplevelse av å leve med kronisk hjertesvikt. Samtidig fremme sykepleierens engasjement, og se hva sykepleie kan bidra med for at eldre med kronisk hjertesvikt skal oppnå økt trygghet og sosial deltakelse. Problemstilling: Hvilke faktorer har betydning for at eldre hjemmeboende pasienter med kronisk hjertesvikt skal mestre å bo hjemme? Metode: Litteraturstudiet består av 9 kvalitative forskningsartikler, hvor 5 er reviewartikler. Artiklene baseres på eldre personers egne erfaringer og opplevelser av å leve med kronisk hjertesvikt i eget hjem, samt mangler og utfordringer knyttet til dette. Resultat: Funn i litteraturstudiet viser til at eldre med kronisk hjertesvikt preges av en opplevelse av frykt, usikkerhet, redsel og mangel på kontroll over egen sykdom, noe som fører til problemer med å oppfylle egen rolle, redsel knyttet til døden og en følelse av å være fengslet i egen sykdom. Dette viser til mangel på trygghet og sosiale deltagelse, noe som sykepleiere kan påvirke igjennom kommunikasjon og samhandling, veiledning og kunnskap om egen sykdom og kontinuitet og tilstedeværelse som ulike tiltak i praksis. Dette er utslagsgivende tiltak. Nøkkelord: Eldre, kronisk hjertesvikt, mestring, opplevelser, følelser, hjemmeboende og sykepleie

The Problem of Mission Creep: Argumentation Theory meets Military History

At the outset ‘mission creep’ is a military phenomenon, denoting uncontrolled and unintended mission development. Even the best-laid plans may become obsolete if they run against the facts on the ground, and mission creep may result. Mission creep also plagues arguments, as when arguments end up in unrelated topics, larger targets, or clusters of topics. Our paper explores possible mutual benefits of applying the resources of argumentation theory and military theory to one another

Lyme arthritis in Southern Norway - an endemic area for Lyme Borreliosis

Background: Despite Southern Norway is an endemic area for Lyme borreliosis there is a lack of data on Lyme arthritis (LA). In the literature controversies exist if acute LA can develop into chronic arthritis. Our objective was to identify and characterize patients with LA in Southern Norway and explore disease course after antibiotic treatment.Methods: Patients aged 20 years or older with arthritis and a positive serology for Borrelia burgdorferi infection (IgG and/or IgM) suspected of having LA were consecutively recruited either from general practitioners or from hospital departments.Results: From January 2007 to December 2010 a total of 27 patients were assessed. Mean (range) age was 56 years (41-80) and mean symptom duration prior to inclusion was 11.2 weeks (1 day - 2 years). Definite LA was diagnosed in 16 patients, probable LA in 5 patients and 6 patients were concluded to have other arthritis disorders. Among the 21 LA patients 20 had mono-arthritis (knee 18, ankle 2) and 1 had polyarthritis.All LA patients responded favourable to antibiotic treatment and none of the patients developed chronic arthritis after long term follow up, not even in LA patients who had intraarticular glucocorticosteroid (GC) injection prior to antibiotic treatment.Conclusions: Our data shows that LA in Southern Norway is a benign disease which successfully can be treated with antibiotics even in patients treated with GC prior to antibiotics

Effects of light source and intensity on sexual maturation, growth and swimming behaviour of Atlantic salmon in sea cages

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Comparison of depression care provided in general practice in Norway and the Netherlands: registry-based cohort study (The Norwegian GP-DEP study)

Background Depression is highly prevalent in general practice, and organisation of primary health care probably affects the provision of depression care. General practitioners (GPs) in Norway and the Netherlands fulfil comparable roles. However, primary care teams with a mental health nurse (MHN) supplementing the GP have been established in the Netherlands, but not yet in Norway. In order to explore how the organisation of primary mental care affects care delivery, we aimed to examine the provision of GP depression care across the two countries. Methods Registry-based cohort study comprising new depression episodes in patients aged ≥ 18 years, 2011–2015. The Norwegian sample was drawn from the entire population (national health registries); 297,409 episodes. A representative Dutch sample (Nivel Primary Care Database) was included; 27,362 episodes. Outcomes were follow-up consultation(s) with GP, with GP and/or MHN, and antidepressant prescriptions during 12 months from the start of the depression episode. Differences between countries were estimated using negative binomial and Cox regression models, adjusted for patient gender, age and comorbidity. Results Patients in the Netherlands compared to Norway were less likely to receive GP follow-up consultations, IRR (incidence rate ratio) = 0.73 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71–0.74). Differences were greatest among patients aged 18–39 years (adj IRR = 0.64, 0.63–0.66) and 40–59 years (adj IRR = 0.71, 0.69–0.73). When comparing follow-up consultations in GP practices, including MHN consultations in the Netherlands, no cross-national differences were found (IRR = 1.00, 0.98–1.01). But in age-stratified analyses, Dutch patients 60 years and older were more likely to be followed up than their Norwegian counterparts (adj IRR = 1.21, 1.16–1.26). Patients in the Netherlands compared to Norway were more likely to receive antidepressant drugs, adj HR (hazard ratio) = 1.32 (1.30–1.34). Conclusions The observed differences indicate that the organisation of primary mental health care affects the provision of follow-up consultations in Norway and the Netherlands. Clinical studies are needed to explore the impact of team-based care and GP-based care on the quality of depression care and patient outcomes.publishedVersio

Production and verification of the first Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) clonal lines

In several fish species homozygous and heterozygous clonal lines have been produced using gynogenetic and androgenetic techniques. These lines are standardized and can be reproduced over generations. In rainbow trout such lines have existed for decades and has become important research tools in genome studies as well as in studies of commercially important traits. The Atlantic salmon is one of the best studied fish species globally, but all experiments are done on fish of wild or domesticated origin and access to standardized immortal fish lines would be of great benefit. Here, we describe the protocols developed to produce mitotic gynogenes, and from these the first clonal lines in Atlantic salmon.publishedVersio

Quantitative proteomic analyses of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells reveal differentially expressed proteins in multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls

Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, neuroinflammatory disease, with an unclear etiology. However, T cells play a central role in the pathogenesis by crossing the blood–brain-barrier, leading to inflammation of the central nervous system and demyelination of the protective sheath surrounding the nerve fibers. MS has a complex inheritance pattern, and several studies indicate that gene interactions with environmental factors contribute to disease onset. Methods In the current study, we evaluated T cell dysregulation at the protein level using electrospray liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry to get novel insights into immune-cell processes in MS. We have analyzed the proteomic profiles of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells purified from whole blood from 13 newly diagnosed, treatment-naive female patients with relapsing–remitting MS and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Results An overall higher protein abundance was observed in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from MS patients when compared to healthy controls. The differentially expressed proteins were enriched for T-cell specific activation pathways, especially CTLA4 and CD28 signaling in CD4+ T cells. When selectively analyzing proteins expressed from the genes most proximal to > 200 non-HLA MS susceptibility polymorphisms, we observed differential expression of eight proteins in T cells between MS patients and healthy controls, and there was a correlation between the genotype at three MS genetic risk loci and protein expressed from proximal genes. Conclusion Our study provides evidence for proteomic differences in T cells from relapsing–remitting MS patients compared to healthy controls and also identifies dysregulation of proteins encoded from MS susceptibility genes.publishedVersio

Does Rearing Laying Hens in Aviaries Adversely Affect Long-Term Welfare following Transfer to Furnished Cages?

Abstract This study tests the hypothesis that hens that are reared in aviaries but produce in furnished cages experience poorer welfare in production than hens reared in caged systems. This hypothesis is based on the suggestion that the spatial restriction associated with the transfer from aviaries to cages results in frustration or stress for the aviary reared birds. To assess the difference in welfare between aviary and cage reared hens in production, non-beak trimmed white leghorn birds from both rearing backgrounds were filmed at a commercial farm that used furnished cage housing. The videos were taken at 19 and 21 weeks of age, following the birds' transition to the production environment at 16 weeks. Videos were analysed in terms of the performance of aversion-related behaviour in undisturbed birds, comfort behaviour in undisturbed birds, and alert behaviour directed to a novel object in the home cage. A decrease in the performance of the former behaviour and increase in the performance of the latter two behaviours indicates improved welfare. The results showed that aviary reared birds performed more alert behaviour near to the object than did cage reared birds at 19 but not at 21 weeks of age (P = 0.03). Blood glucose concentrations did not differ between the treatments (P.0.10). There was a significant difference in mortality between treatments (P = 0.000), with more death in aviary reared birds (5.52%) compared to cage birds (2.48%). The higher mortality of aviary-reared birds indicates a negative effect of aviary rearing on bird welfare, whereas the higher duration of alert behavior suggests a positive effect of aviary rearing